


Illin'

by echoflowertea



Series: Open Requests [7]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underswap, F/M, Underswap Papyrus, Underswap Sans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 11:02:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7755169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoflowertea/pseuds/echoflowertea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You’re sick, plain and simple. It’s just what happens to humans every once in a while. But your skeleboyfriends aren’t standing for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Illin'

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt** : Could you do a sequel to the underswap request you did, with sans and papyrus taking care of and panicking over a sick reader? The ending was just too cute :)

Man, this sucked. You looked like hell and you didn’t feel any better. Greasy hair, a runny nose, flushed face and sleepy look permanently etched on your features. Why the hell did the brothers want to come over? Did they know anything about human sicknesses?

It was just a cold. That’s it. You needed to sleep and rest and you would be fine. But Sans was always the worrying type because he was afraid that somehow you would just up and crumble before his very eyes. You guessed you should be happy that he cared enough to think about losing you, but you didn’t want to ruin his entire afternoon with your problems.

You draped the blanket over your shoulders and dizzily headed toward the front door. This was why they needed a key. They came over enough that they should’ve kept one on them, but you’d just been lazy in actually getting one made. Now look at this mess.

Just as you flicked the lock to the left, you heard muffled voices on the other side of the door.

“HELLO??? IS THE DOOR UNLOCKED???”

You opened it a crack and tried to warn him not to jump on you, but he’d already launched himself through the air.

You both landed against your couch with an _oof,_ Sans burying his face in your stomach. He clutched at your robe and apologized vehemently, a half-sob in his throat. You pushed him away from you gently and tried to get him to look at you, but he had waterlogged your entire front and refused to move.

Papyrus shuffled his way in and gazed at you. “hey.”

“Hi. Um, can you help me with this?”

“i guess…” He plucked his brother up by the scarf and deposited him away with ease.

You were already feeling a lot less confined, though the pounding your head multiplied with every sniffle and excuse he tried to stammer out. Between the walk from your room to the enthusiastic greeting you’d received, you were feeling really crappy. It took all of your willpower to keep standing, and even after a few seconds you plopped down on the arm of the couch to steady yourself and not pass out.

“DATEFRIEND…YOU DON’T LOOK WELL AT ALL. WELL, LUCKY FOR YOU, YOUR SMARTY-PANTS BOYFRIEND BROUGHT YOU SOME VERY POPULAR MONSTER REMEDIES.” He deposited his giant backpack on the ground. “WE CAN START WITH SOME BASIC THINGS. HOW ABOUT I TAKE YOUR TEMPERATURE? THEN WE CAN FIGURE OUT IF WE NEED A WARM OR A HOT BATH! WE PUT THESE LITTLE SPRINKLES IN THEM TO MAKE IT SMELL NICE BUT ALSO TO REJUVENATE OUR MAGIC OUTPUT.”

“heh.”

“WHAT IS SO FUNNY, BROTHER?”

“doesn’t matter what kind of water we put her in, with her there, it’s always gonna turn out as a hot bath.” Wink.

“OH!!! YOU ARE CORRECT!” Sans grinned with his hands on his hips. “DO YOU GET OUR BANTER? WE ARE SAYING YOU ARE ATTRACTIVE.”

You blew your nose into the tissue you had crammed between your fingers. Not amusing. “Can we just…”

“WHAT?”

“Get this over with?”

“WOWIE, SICKNESS DOES MAKE YOU A LITTLE CRANKY. IT’S OKAY THOUGH, I KNOW IT IS JUST THE BACTERIA TALKING. THEY ARE A LITTLE RUDE, BUT I STILL LOVE YOU VERY MUCH. LET’S GO TO THE BATHROOM.”

You gaped at him and his carefree words. Love? Sans had never said he loved you!!! And now he was just leading you away like he didn’t even realize the weight of what he just said!!! You didn’t even have time to process this, as he had plopped you right down on the toilet so he could get the water going. Wait, when did he even pick you up? How did he manage to cart you around? Was he doing those timeskips again???

Papyrus just tagged alone for the ride, lingering in the doorway while Sans hummed a cheerful tune.

“SO, HUMANS HAVE BODY TEMPERATURES THAT INDICATE THEIR LEVEL OF DISCOMFORT. I SEE! TRULY, THIS IS FASCINATING. YOU ARE SO COMPLEX.” He drew out a thermometer from his bag. “I BOUGHT THIS ON THE WAY HERE, I WASN’T SURE IF YOU HAD ONE!!! NOW OPEN WIDE!”

“Sans, wait!”

“THERE IS NO TIME, WE NEED TO GET YOU CLEANED UP. THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN…SITTING IN YOUR OWN SICKNESS!”

“That doesn’t go in my mouth!!!”

He stared at the object in his hands, blinking rapidly. “IT GOES…UNDER YOUR TONGUE? AND YOU HOLD IT THERE FOR A FEW SECONDS, IT’S REAL NEATO!”

“Um, yeah. But that’s a, um…rectal. Thermometer.”

You really wished you could be swallowed up by the void. This conversation was not one you wanted to have with your monster boyfriend when all he was trying to do was make you feel a little better. You buried your face in your hands to hide your mortified expression, not reassured in the slightest by the heavy silence in the room.

Until Papyrus started laughing.

“oh my god. this is great.”

“WHAT HAVE I DONE???” Sans dropped the thermometer, horrified. “I EVEN TRIED IT TO SEE HOW IT WORKED?”

His brother laughed harder. It got a snort out of you, too.

“WELL IT’S A GOOD THING IT WAS FRESH OUT OF THE BOX??? I DON’T EVEN WANT TO…NO, WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS ANY MORE!” He set it down on the sink and shuddered. “DO YOU…PERHAPS HAVE ANOTHER ONE WE CAN USE, THEN?”

You pointed it out to him while he gently stuck the tip of it into your open mouth. You could’ve done this yourself earlier, but you had a sneaking suspicion you knew the answer, so you didn’t bother. But Sans was adamant in waiting exactly the amount of time it said on the box he purchased, focused solely on the climbing digital numbers that shifted with every passing second.

“OH NO!!! YOU HAVE A FEVER!!!”

“Mmhmm.”

“PAPY, ARE WE PREPARED? WILL THE SOLUTION WORK??? I THOUGHT YOU SAID IT WAS A COLD!!!”

You probably did, but you were dreading this kind of reaction. “Um, sorry.”

“IT IS…NOT YOUR FAULT. I NEED TO MAKE A QUICK PHONECALL. BE RIGHT BACK!” Sans dashed out the room, hurriedly phoning Asgore by your suspicions. The old man knew his stuff about healing and magic, so that would be his best bet in trying to determine the next course of action.

Papyrus ambled in once his brother took off. He dropped down to his knee and faced you with…was that concern on his face? He lifted a hand and rested it along your forehead, his bones cool against your skin. So much that you leaned into it with silent relief. That probably wasn’t good. Both of the brothers were ridiculously warm any other time you’d snuggled up to them or been in close contact, so that must’ve meant you were burning up more than you thought you were.

“kinda warm there, babe.”

“I figured. You feel really good.” You let out a small noise of contentment.

Papyrus looked away from you. You thought it was because he wasn’t too interested in having your snot-filled face so close, but it was actually the opposite. You caught sight of a dusty red blush that scattered along his cheekbones. He was…flustered.

Well this was new. You weren’t ever going to let him live this down.

“so, uh…you gonna be ok to take the bath by yourself?”

“Why, you wanna help me?”

He immediately released you, turned heel, and stormed out of the bathroom to recollect himself. You burst into faint giggles as you heard him leave.

Sans returned and squawked when he saw you by yourself. “WHERE DID THAT BROTHER OF MINE GO? HE SHOULD BE HERE TO SUPERVISE! YOU COULD HAVE FALLEN OR WENT UNCONSCIOUS!!!”

“It’s really not that bad, Sans. Trust me. I’ll get over this in a couple of days.”

“WELL, WE CAN CERTAINLY CUT THAT TIME IN HALF WITH THE NEW REGIMEN THAT TORIEL’S CLONE GAVE ME. HE SAID THAT THE THINGS I BROUGHT WOULD WORK, BUT WE MUST NOT PUT YOU IN HOT OR COLD WATER. LUKEWARM IT IS. NOW…WHILE I AM VERY HAPPY TO HELP YOU…PERHAPS WE COULD, UM…”

You hummed. “I mean. If we use bubbles, it could work.”

“BUBBLES. YES! BUBBLES. IN THE BATH. TO HIDE YOUR LADY BITS.” He rummaged underneath the sink. “I WILL DUMP THIS ENTIRE THING IN AND GET IT STARTED. ONCE IT’S JUST RIGHT, YOU HOP IN, AND THEN I WILL HELP YOU GET CLEANED UP. AND NO PROTESTING!!! YOUR BEAUTIFUL AND SILKY VOICE WILL NOT TEMPT ME TO LEAVE TODAY, MY WILLPOWER HAS INCREASED TENFOLD WITH THE POWER OF LOVE!”

There was that word again. Instead of causing a panic in your chest, it put butterflies in your stomach. Great. As if you weren’t feeling nauseous enough already.

Sans hummed to himself as he tested the water at least five times. When he was sure everything was okay, he left you to strip so you could climb in.

Normally you would’ve been mortified to do this, but he wasn’t going to let you get away with not taking a bath. That and he was being very respectful of your boundaries. He wasn’t some kind of pervert that was going to ogle you or get off on your frail form soaking in the tub. You trusted him, and if he wanted to help you out, then maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. Especially since you could barely move at this point.

“Okay, I’m ready!”

He peered through the crack in the doorway. Looked at you. Closed it. Came back in with a smile on his face.

“THERE WE ARE. I’M GOING TO PUT IN THE POWDER.”

He spread it all around you. At first you didn’t feel anything, but then the grains came together and seemed to massage every inch of your skin. It was warm and heavenly, the gritty texture blossoming into beads that had you feel like you were floating. Magic sparkled in the tub and bounced off your skin.

“Oooh, that feels…weird.”

“GOOD WEIRD OR BAD WEIRD?”

“I-I don’t know yet.”

“OKIE DOKIE. WELL, I’LL JUST START WITH YOUR HAIR.” He lathered his hands in the shampoo, fascinated with the scent and texture. “AH. IT IS SO SOFT. YOU ARE SOFT EVERYWHERE.”

The door opened just as you sat up so he could squeeze in another dollop near the back of your neck. Papyrus took one look at you, stammered out something, then left again.

What was his deal? He was usually so calm and collected. And you were just…you know. Sitting here. Naked. In the tub. Surrounded by bubbles. At your most vulnerable. Okay, so maybe you understood why he would get a little hot and bothered.

“PAPY! ARE YOU HELPING OR NOT?”

“uh…i’m  good out here, bro.”

“NONSENSE. YOU WERE INSISTENT YOU COME. I TOLD HIM THAT HE DIDN’T NEED TO, BUT HE SAID THAT HE WOULD NEVER LET YOU STAY BY YOURSELF IF HE KNEW YOU WEREN’T FEELING WELL.”

“sans.”

“WHILE I WAS OBVIOUSLY KEEPING MY COOL, HE PANICKED AND SAID THAT HE NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET YOU GO OUT INTO THE RAIN. BUT THAT HE LET YOU BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO CUTE TO RESIST.”

“ _bro._ ”

“IT’S THE TRUTH!!! AND IF YOU DO NOT COME IN HERE AND ASSIST ME, I WILL CONTINUE TO TELL HER ALL ABOUT YOUR COMPLEX FEELINGS UNTIL YOU DO!”

That got him, alright. You stifled a laugh as Papyrus came in and sat on the toilet, facing the completely other direction. Making it so that he had his gaze transfixed on the wall.

“THE SOAP, PLEASE.”

“here ya go.”

“THE TOWEL.”

“uh huh.”

“NOW THE ROBE.”

“ok.”

“I’M GOING TO TURN AROUND SO YOU CAN PUT THIS ON.”

“Thanks, guys.”

You did feel a lot better. Clean hair, no more greasy aftermath to wallow in. And while the powder didn’t really do much for you because you didn’t have magical abilities anyway, it did help to soothe your aches and pains. It helped with the physical part of things.

After making sure it was tied tight, you stepped out of the water and wrapped your hair up in the towel.

“pffft. what is that?”

“What?” You knew he was just deflecting his own feelings into teasing you, but it was still annoying.

“that towel on your head. it’s all twisted up.”

“It’s how I dry my hair? Lots of humans do it.”

“ok. sounds fake.”

“Whatever, Papyrus.” You tried to walk past him, but stumbled on your own two feet. He caught you immediately.

“be more careful, babe. you’re not a hundred percent. ya gotta wait until you get better before you throw me some attitude.”

“Hmph.”

He led you to your bedroom anyway. Sans had disappeared from the bathroom, and you’d wondered where he went, but it looked like he’d been setting up the perfect resting place for you. He’d brought over freshly washed sheets and covers. Arranged the pillows so it looked more like a fort. Brought the TV from the living room and hooked it right up, dimming the lights and shutting the curtains so you had room to sleep. There was a vase filled with bright and colorful flowers off to the side, with your favorite food sitting on a tray just waiting for you to put something in your stomach.

“Oh my gosh. Sans.”

“THIS IS…A FORMAL APOLOGY FOR GETTING YOU SICK.” His chin hit his chest in defeat, hands clenching into fists. “IT WAS MY FAULT.”

“No, it wasn’t. I wanted to go out just as much as you did, you didn’t force me.”

“B-BUT I WENT THROUGH WITH IT DESPITE THE RISK!!! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS WOULD HAPPEN. AS MAGNIFICENT AS I AM…I FAILED YOU.”

“You didn’t fail anyone.” You stopped to cradle his head in your heads, thumbing his frustrated tears away. “Look at all this stuff you did for me. Both of you. No one’s ever…I mean…”

Papyrus closed the door so you wouldn’t spread your germs around the house. It was nice that he could still act normal while you tried to get this all out on the table.

“…I’m really lucky that I fell in love with people who care so much for me.”

Yup. That was it. Sans’s entire face switched hues and he stammered out a response. Papyrus choked on the small piece of food he’d popped in his mouth to busy himself. Now the two of them were short-circuiting. Sans looked so happy he wanted to explode, whereas Papyrus was so embarrassed he actually had to sit down on the bed and steady himself so he wouldn’t fall over. You took one look at both of them and laughed, despite the aches in your joints and the thrum of sickness still surging through your body.

“WOWIE TRULY THIS IS THE MOST SPECTACULAR AND AMAZING DAY OF MY LIFE I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THE WOMAN I LOVE ALSO LOVES ME AND LOVES MY BROTHER AND HE LOVES HER BUT IS TOO AFRAID TO SAY IT BECAUSE HE IS A BABYBONES AND I WANT TO SMOOCH AND CUDDLE AND KISS YOU BUT I CAN’T BECAUSE YOU ARE SICK SO WHAT WILL I DO????”

You clambered into bed, tearing the towel off of your head, propping yourself upright and turning on the TV. Both brothers were still trying to deal with your impromptu confession, with Sans’s rant seemingly never ending. Papyrus just sat there and looked for anything to distract himself with, going shock still as his brother bounced around the room.

After a while, they seemed to deal with it in their own way. Sans couldn’t look at you without beaming so hard that you were sure his face was going to break, and Papyrus flopped down on the bed and let out a few disbelieving laughs every few seconds to let you know he was still alive and hadn’t died of shock.

Time passed.

Sans came up to you. Put the tray on your lap. Fed you soup. Some of it ran down the corner of your lips and he rubbed it away with his finger, sticking in his mouth without even thinking. He didn’t even need to apologize because it got a laugh out of you despite how gross it was at first. He’d made everything himself and you made sure to tell him it was delicious so he could look at you with starry eyes again.

Papyrus wound up on your other side. Sitting on top of the covers and pretending to text on his phone, but glancing at you every few minutes. At one point he put a hand on your shoulder and stroked it absentmindedly while you ate, relaxing into the soft bed. He eventually combed your hair after it was dry enough, not wanting it to tangle so bad when you finally did lie down.

Sans brought over some pain reliever tablets you had in your medicine cabinet, pouring over the entire label before he reluctantly handed you some. Checking your temperature every hour to see if there was a difference. At one point it reported that it’d gone up, and he nearly cried out of frustration because he didn’t know what he was doing wrong. You reassured him that it was a process, that you would get better, and that you already felt so much more at ease with his company.

Papyrus changed the channel for you. Got up to get you a glass of cold water when your throat hurt from coughing. He came back with some cough drops and deposited them on the tray, unwrapping one and popping it into your mouth despite your initial embarrassment. He ate one too, but then spit it out in his palm when he realized it did _not_ taste as well as he thought it would.

You must’ve drifted in and out of consciousness, because you remembered bits and pieces of their conversation. Sans going on excitedly about how happy he was. Papyrus telling him he felt the same. How Sans knew that he was going to be with you the rest of his life when you first met, Papyrus expressing that it had been a slower and more intimate process. They shared a lot more with each other when they thought you weren’t awake to hear it.

Everything was going fine until you threw up. Whoops. Maybe you should’ve warned them that it might’ve happened.

Neither of them freaked out or made you feel bad about it. They had the trashcan ready anyway to get rid of the remnants of food, so that was a nice surprise. You felt a bit better after getting emptying your stomach, and you settled back into a dozy snooze.

“Mmm.”

“babe, you’re shivering.”

“M’ cold.”

“i’ll get ya some socks, how ‘bout that?”

He put them on your feet. Sans put away the massive coat he grabbed from the living room, a little bashful at his overreaction.

They stayed with you the entire night. And the next day. And even the next when you called out from work.

By the third day, you were feeling so much better. The sickness had run its course, and you’d gotten your appetite back. Papyrus made pancakes and waffles, Sans wiggling in his chair as he waited for his brother to drop his plate down.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT TOOK THREE WHOLE DAYS!!!”

“Sometimes it can take longer, like with flus and stuff? The longest cold I had lasted about a week.”

“HUMANS ARE SO STRANGE. BUT I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. RIGHT, PAPY?”

“…”

“PAPYRUS!!!”

“…yeah, ok. me too.” He closed both eyes and tried to pretend he wasn’t embarrassed.

“Well, if you guys ever get sick, consider me your nurse.” You bit down into the crispy treat slathered in syrup and let out a happy noise.

Papyrus and Sans glanced at each other.

“O-OH. OH NO. I AM FEELING A LITTLE WOOZY.”

“Sans, are you okay?”

“can’t, uh…really concentrate. might’ve caught your… _femur._ ”

“NO PUNS ABOUT SICKNESS! I-I MEAN, IS THE ROOM SPINNING??? I CAN’T FINISH THIS DELICIOUS PLATE AFTER THIS NEXT BIG BITE.”

You narrowed your eyes at them and laughed, fully aware of what they were doing but knowing you would play along anyway.

**Author's Note:**

>  **please comment!** i love hearing from you!
> 
> want to request a fic from me? **[go for it!](http://echoflowertea.tumblr.com/ask)**
> 
> you can always [donate](http://www.ko-fi.com/A258IM#_=_)!


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